This trip was a badly need three meditation retreats back to back. Got into San Diego and crashed. This is the view from the hotel. Coronado Bridge and a destroyer in the background.

Point Loma Seafood, a must-stop. Fish are unloaded from the dock (background) and immediately cooked. You'll never find better. Hertz gave me a free nagatron. Used it to get here from the hotel, since I was fuzzy on the route after several years. Disadvantage: If i drive somewhere on my own, I remember the route. Next time I went here, I had to rely on the nagatron again.

Shop in Old Town. Had outrageously good chicken mole, left my reading glasses at the restaraunt and didn't get them back. This is the third pair I've lost in about a month--one at the San Juan airport in Puerto Rico, my real prescription ones I stepped on three months ago and haven't had time to get reframed, thanks to two projects, a proposal and training at work, and an all-consuming moonlighting project at home.

Ram took me through India. He now lives with his wife Jill in a double-wide in Cathedral City, near Palm Springs. Picked up Ram to go meditating and hiking near 29 Palms.

Ram, Jill and snowbird Buddhist friends

Turnabout is fair play, Richard.

Ram got a cutting of the cactus that Luther Burbank charmed out of its thorns. I felt them--vestigial thorns are there, but they're soft, stubble.

29 Palms area

Ox Yoke meditation retreat. I used to think this was the building that Bro. Anandamoy talks about working on, but it doesn't match the description. This year located the original building (below)

Ocotillo - morning

Ocotillo - Noon

Hiking with Ram in Joshua Tree National Monument

Local inventor Ken Drummond (center) is building a to-scale orrery (solar system model) for the Joshua Tree astronomical club. The excavation is to achieve the proper tilt for Earth's orbit. Venus' orbit is visible on the right. The planets will be tiny (to scale). The outer planets will have to be in the scrub, pending landowner permission. They'll create hiking trails to them. Ram is on the right; a rich retired insurance exec who is sponsoring the project (and doing the shovel work) is on the left.

Undisclosed location - The house that my Guru built is on the left. It's now a nun's retreat. The larger building is used for retreats by members of the Board of Directors. Also found out that Rajarsi Janakananda's house in Borrego Springs was being vandalized, so it's current owner moved the whole house. Hope to get a tour sometime.

View of Coachella, Palm Springs and the San Andreas from Keys Point

Dropped Ram off and drove to Encinitas. Photo is from ashram grounds. Spent three days here.

In the 70s, California decided that too much coastline was in private hands, and set up the California Coastline Commission to ensure public access. The ashram fought having sidewalks through its grounds (the town solidly backed us and fought it as well). As part of a deal, SRF gave the northern part of its property to the State, which created this park.

Another view from the ashram grounds

Encinitas--as soon as I saw this, I thought "Sharon!" This is her aesthetic.

Drove to Hidden Valley, in the hills above Escondido, for a conducted weekend retreat. Meditation temple on the ashram grounds.

The ashram is a working farm. NAFTA shafted the herb and flower business. Now it depends on retreatant donations. The farm is still operated by monks and long-term residents; the food goes to other ashrams.